by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy
Bush had hoped to pull off a quick victory cheap. But nothing worked out as hoped or planned. The American people are stuck with the tab, paying for the war with high hidden taxes, higher prices and American lives. The cost of Bush's war crime has tripled since Bush declared the end of major combat operations. The American people are not safer for having sacrificed the lives of loved ones. The war on terrorism is either a criminal fraud or a miserable failure and I challenge my critics at the Heritage Foundation to debate me on that issue.
War is a racket fought by the masses for privileged elites, big corporations, and venal politicians like Bush. Bush's quagmire is fought for the benefit of no-bid contractors like Halliburton and Blackwater and financed by America's working poor and middle classes who pay for the war —with their lives abroad and with their jobs, their retirement prospects, and their access to health care at home. Bush's base —the nation's elite, his corporate sponsors, and the so-called defense industry —have paid nothing, risked nothing! Rather —they feed at the trough. The upper one percent of the population has gotten several tax cuts while the big oil companies report record profits rising concurrently with higher prices at the pump.
Just two days after 9/11, I learned from Congressional staffers that Republicans on Capitol Hill were already exploiting the atrocity, trying to use it to push through tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. ... We now know that from the very beginning, the Bush administration and its allies in Congress saw the terrorist threat not as a problem to be solved, but as a political opportunity to be exploited. The story of the latest terror plot makes the administration’s fecklessness and cynicism on terrorism clearer than ever.There are big profits in the death business. Go to Texas and ask the CEO at DynCorp.
—Hoping for Fear, by Paul Krugman, Using Fear Commentary, NY Times
The war in Iraq has boosted DynCorp's revenues, responsible for about $400 million of the company's nearly $2 billion in sales. And while the company didn't specify how much the effort has added to profits, there has certainly been an upside, Lagana said, although he added that profit margins are lower than in other private industry -- often below 10 percent.Over the longer term, however, the effects of Bush's war against the people of Iraq war are only temporary, benefiting the entire economy only for a short period of time, the period of time in which the pump is primed. On the whole, the effect is minimal. Average Americans have not benefited from mass murder, torture, and other atrocities perpetrated by the "state". As Economic Policy Institute economist Jared Bernstein noted, whatever economic stimulus war might have provided becomes increasingly less significant over time. Defense spending had a big effect on job growth in 2004, but its effect since that time is relatively small. Wealth, however ill-gotten does not trickle down.
For government contractors and other US-based businesses that are doing work in Iraq, the war there has continued to provide opportunity and benefits, although experts and companies alike say they are difficult to quantify. To be sure, security businesses, oil producers and defense contractors are among the biggest winners. Those who manufacture key products, from bulletproof vests to bullets themselves, and, more recently, those involved in reconstruction, have reaped the benefits, too.
--Businesses find benefits, costs in war work
The number of US troops in Iraq, put at 145,000, does not include more than 126,000 private contractors. Author Jeremy Schahill calls it “the world’s most powerful mercenary army.” But that is polite. They are, in fact, hired hit men financed, enabled and paid by the people of the United States whether they want to or not. Under Bush, the US taxpayer no longer has a say in how his/her money is spent.
Scahill and filmmaker Robert Greenwald have told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee that these so-called "contract workers", these hired killers murder with impunity and undermine the better efforts of US command and control.
...contract workers have been involved in — but not punished for — numerous scandals during the Iraq war, the pair claimed. These contractors were among the interrogators and translators who tortured prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, Greenwald said.One of the more insidious falsehoods about Iraq has turned out to have been Bushco estimates of its cost. In 2002, George W. Bush himself predicted the war would cost between $100 billion and $200 billion —tops! To be expected —Bush was dead wrong. A report by the Democratic staff of the House Budget Committee now estimates that Bush's war of aggression in Iraq could cost the US $646 billion by 2015 —depending on the scope and duration of operations. Nobel prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University, estimates the cost of the war from one trillion to two trillion dollars!
In one short period, senior military personnel documented 12 instances in which contract workers shot at Iraqi civilians, killing six, Scahill said, but no contractors were charged with crimes.
Contract employees were granted immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law by Paul Bremmer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority that ruled Iraq in 2003 and 2004, Scahill said. And they were not subject to US military law.
Truck drivers working for Halliburton routinely drove empty trucks across Iraq because the company is paid by the number of trips, not by the amount of cargo a truck carries, Greenwald said.
-- US House Panel Puts Iraq Contractor Abuse Claims ‘On the Record’
Ongoing operations in Iraq were estimated at $5.6 billion per month in 2005. And costs have surely risen since then as the intensity of fighing increases accompanied by significant losses of materiel and maintenance.
The Bill So Far: Congress has already approved four spending bills for Iraq with funds totaling $204.4 billion and is in the process of approving a “bridge fund” for $45.3 billion to cover operations until another supplemental spending package can be passed, most likely slated for Spring 2006. Broken down per person in the United States, the cost so far is $727, making the Iraq War the most expensive military effort in the last 60 years.The Bush administration has been able to keep the precise cost of the war a matter of guess work and estimates. But however much is wasted killing civilians in Iraq that is money that is not being spent educating Americans, providing for health care, fixing Social Security, rebuilding a deteriorating infrastructure, or addressing real threats to our environment.
Long-term Impact on US Economy: In August 2005, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the cost of continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at current levels would nearly double the projected federal budget deficit over the next ten years. According to current estimates, during that time the cost of the Iraq War could exceed $700 billion.
Economic Impact on Military Families: Since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 210,000 of the National Guard’s 330,000 soldiers have been called up, with an average mobilization of 460 days. Government studies show that about half of all reservists and Guard members report a loss of income when they go on active duty—typically more than $4,000 a year. About 30,000 small business owners alone have been called to service and are especially likely to fall victim to the adverse economic effects of military deployment.
—The Iraq Quagmire: The Mounting Costs of War and the Case for Bringing Home the Troops, Institute for Policy Studies
However much has blown up in Iraq, it is lost forever to the victims of Bush's incompetence in the face of Katrina. It is lost forever to those millions losing retirements to corporate mismanagement and greed. It is lost forever to those unable to pay the high costs of health care, education, transportation, housing, and getting enough to eat each day.
US Budget and Social Programs: The Administration’s FY 2006 budget, which does not include any funding for the Iraq War, takes a hard line with domestic spending— slashing or eliminating more than 150 federal programs. The $204.4 billion appropriated thus far for the war in Iraq could have purchased any of the following desperately needed services in our country: 46,458,805 uninsured people receiving health care or 3,545,016 elementary school teachers or 27,093,473 Head Start places for children or 1,841,833 affordable housing units or 24,072 new elementary schools or 39,665,748 scholarships for university students or 3,204,265 port container inspectors.Many delusions were promoted in order to commit this nation to aggressive war. In the short months after 9/11, Bush erected a strawman upon which to direct American frustration, anger, and vengeance —an “axis of evil” consisting of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. His intentions were made clear at the time. This "Axis of Evil" was responsible for world terrorism in general and our nation would wage war against it. Bush's speech was most notable, however, for what he did not say. Bush did not tell the American people that he had no intention of paying for the war. He would leave the deficit to future administrations and generations. Rather than expect his privileged base to pony up, he would reward their loyalty with several tax cuts. Nor are sons of daughters of that base required to serve their nation militarily. Bush's base gets a free ride as the rest of the nation bears the cost of war —in both lives and dollars.
Social Costs to the Military/Troop Morale: As of May 2005, stop-loss orders are affecting 14,082 soldiers—almost 10 percent of the entire forces serving in Iraq with no end date set for the use of these orders. Long deployments and high levels of soldier’s stress extend to family life. In 2004, 3,325 Army officer’s marriages ended in divorce—up 78 percent from 2003, the year of the Iraq invasion and more than 3.5 times the number in 2000.
Costs to Veteran Health Care: The Veterans Affairs department projected that 23,553 veterans would return from Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005 and seek medical care. But in June 2005, the VA Secretary, Jim Nicholson, revised this number to 103,000. The miscalculation has led to a shortfall of $273 million in the VA budget for 2005 and may result in a loss of $2.6 billion in 2006.
Mental Health Costs: In July 2005 the Army’s surgeon general reported that 30 percent of US troops have developed stress-related mental health problems three to four months after coming home from the Iraq War. Because about 1 million American troops have served so far in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan some experts predict that the number eventually requiring mental health treatment could exceed 100,000.
—The Iraq Quagmire: The Mounting Costs of War and the Case for Bringing Home the Troops, Institute for Policy Studies
If wars are not paid for upfront, they are paid for in the form of higher interest rates, prices, and lives. Wealth does not trickle down. But the effects of a falling dollar is felt by everyone. The exponential rise of wage and income inequality began with a vengeance in the Reagan 80's, most closely associated with the Reagan tax cut of 1982. Only the top 20 percent of the population benefited. Wage/income disparities have increased since then with only a short respite during Clinton's second term. The current trend began before a great wave of technical change and a computer revolution —none of which has benefited working Americans. Indeed, if you work for a living you have paid and continue to pay for Bush's war of aggression while Bush's base gets preferential treatment!
It is no coincidence that as prices increase, so, too, the national deficit. American credit abroad is dodgy. As the dollar continues to slide on world exchanges, not only gasoline prices increase but also prices of imported goods. Bush had said that he favors a strong dollar but, in fact, his administration has let the dollar slide, a cynical ploy designed to finance the Iraq folly upon the backs of working Americans. That it provides a moderate relief to US exporters is a bad trade off. What —other than death, torture and destruction —do we export these days?
Like Bush's mythical "Axis of Evil" the idea that a nation can wage a free war is an evil GOP fairy tale. Wars are always paid for, if not now, later, and in ways you won't like.
An update:
A pipeline shuts down in Alaska. Equipment failures disrupt air travel in Los Angeles. Electricity runs short at a spy agency in Maryland.
None of these recent events resulted from a natural disaster or terrorist attack, but they may as well have, some homeland security experts say. They worry that too little attention is paid to how fast the country's basic operating systems are deteriorating.
"When I see events like these, I become concerned that we've lost focus on the core operational functionality of the nation's infrastructure and are becoming a fragile nation, which is just as bad — if not worse — as being an insecure nation," said Christian Beckner, a Washington analyst who runs the respected Web site Homeland Security Watch (www.christianbeckner.com).
The American Society of Civil Engineers last year graded the nation "D" for its overall infrastructure conditions, estimating that it would take $1.6 trillion over five years to fix the problem.
"I thought [Hurricane] Katrina was a hell of a wake-up call, but people are missing the alarm," said Casey Dinges, the society's managing director of external affairs.
British oil company BP announced this month that severe corrosion would close its Alaska pipelines for extensive repairs. Analysts say this may sideline some 200,000 barrels a day of production for several months.
Then an instrument landing system that guides arriving planes onto a runway at Los Angeles International Airport failed for the second time in a week, delaying flights.
Those incidents followed reports that the National Security Agency (NSA), the intelligence world's electronic eavesdropping arm, is consuming so much electricity at its headquarters outside Washington that it is in danger of exceeding its power supply.
"If a terrorist group were able to knock the NSA offline, or disrupt one of the nation's busiest airports, or shut down the most important oil pipeline in the nation, the impact would be perceived as devastating," Beckner said. "And yet we've essentially let these things happen — or almost happen — to ourselves."
The Commission on Public Infrastructure at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said in a recent report that facilities are deteriorating "at an alarming rate." ...
--Chuck McCutcheon, Newhouse News Service, Experts warn US is coming apart at the seams; becoming third world
Indeed, Bush has arrogated unto himself the power to interpret the Constitution. I suppose he can now just dismiss the Supreme Court. Already he claims the authority to re-write laws passed by Congress and denies Congress the authority to subpoena witnessesBush Plans Dictatorship
"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
Bush uttered those very unfunny words on December 18, 2000. On that day the president-elect went to capitol hill to meet with Congressional leaders and emerged from the meeting flipping them and the American people this rhetorical bird.
George W. Bush
The president is making good on those words and there hasn't been a peep out of Congress or the press. In a document released on May 9, 2007 entitled "National Continuity Policy," Bush makes good on his sick fantasy. In case of “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the US population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function” Bush will control the entire US government, not just the federal branch.
It isn't really surprising. Bush decides who is an enemy combatant, a person without legal rights, and who should be spied upon.
If ever there was a moment for conspiracy theories, this is it. Will there be a phony terror attack, or a declaration of war against Iran? We don't know what the trigger will be but it is time to be afraid.
Actually it is time for impeachment. Bush's unpopularity makes him particularly dangerous. So does the acquiescence of the media and the silence of the Democrats. State legislatures have the right to begin the impeachment process but they have been smacked down by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
We are screwed. The phrase may be inelegant, but it says it all. Maybe we will all end up in Guantanamo. Who knows? The National Continuity Policy contains "classified continuity annexes." WTF!? As I said, we are screwed.
It defines a “catastrophic emergency” as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the US population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function.”And this just in from Bluebloggin'.
Bush Anoints Himself as the Insurer of Constitutional Government in Emergency
An update on Bush's transparent attempts to undermine US obligations with regard to the Geneva Convention.US Department of Interior Investigates Bush
Posted by nytexan on July 27th, 2007
How many investigations can one administration have? I suppose if you’re Bush and Cheney and you completely ignore laws, you could technically be investigated every month. Well this time it’s the US Department of Interior going after them for the Endangered Species Act.
Mother Jones
Legal discrepancies seem to be the standard operating procedure for the Bush administration.
- Two government entities are investigating the Bush administration over the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Christian Science Monitor reports the US Interior Department is reviewing the scientific integrity of decisions made by a political appointee, Julie MacDonald, who recently resigned under fire. Fish and Wildlife Service employees complained that MacDonald bullied, insulted, and harassed the professional staff to alter their biological reporting. The inspector noted that although she has no formal educational background in biology, she nevertheless labored long and hard editing, commenting on, and reshaping the endangered species program’s scientific reports from the field. Last week Fish and Wildlife announced that eight decisions MacDonald made under the ESA would be examined for scientific and legal discrepancies.
Bush has a habit of putting incompetent people to oversee and bully scientist. This is exactly what Bush did with the national weather scientist so global warming would be watered down.
- Meanwhile Congress is investigating evidence that Vice President Dick Cheney interfered with decisions involving water in California and Oregon resulting in a mass kill of Klamath River salmon, including threatened species. As the CSM reports, both episodes illustrate the Bush administration’s resistance to the law. Earlier, the Washington Post ran the story of Cheney’s personal interference in the water decision that killed the salmon in 2002:
- In Oregon, a battleground state that the Bush-Cheney ticket had lost by less than half of 1 percent, drought-stricken farmers and ranchers were about to be cut off from the irrigation water that kept their cropland and pastures green. Federal biologists said the Endangered Species Act left the government no choice: The survival of two imperiled species of fish was at stake. Law and science seemed to be on the side of the fish. Then the vice president stepped in. First Cheney looked for a way around the law, aides said. Next he set in motion a process to challenge the science protecting the fish, according to a former Oregon congressman who lobbied for the farmers.
To date in the war on terrorism, including the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and all U.S. military personnel killed in action in Afghanistan and Iraq, America's losses total about 2 percent of the forces we lost in World War II and less than 7 percent of those killed in Vietnam. Yet we did not find it necessary to compromise our honor or abandon our commitment to the rule of law to defeat Nazi Germany or imperial Japan, or to resist communist aggression in Indochina. On the contrary, in Vietnam -- where we both proudly served twice -- America voluntarily extended the protections of the full Geneva Convention on prisoners of war to Viet Cong guerrillas who, like al-Qaeda, did not even arguably qualify for such protections.Tipped off by Fuzzflash, I post the following video experience. Just as it is impossible to make meaningful statements about a syntax from within a syntax, we may find it impossible to make statements about our own culture. Perhaps the Ancient Mayans have shown us a non-verbal truth from outside our paradigm. The "text" is by William Borroughs but the video was produced and added by one who uses the label, Karma, who writes"
The Geneva Conventions provide important protections to our own military forces when we send them into harm's way. Our troops deserve those protections, and we betray their interests when we gratuitously "interpret" key provisions of the conventions in a manner likely to undermine their effectiveness. Policymakers should also keep in mind that violations of Common Article 3 are "war crimes" for which everyone involved -- potentially up to and including the president of the United States -- may be tried in any of the other 193 countries that are parties to the conventions.
--P.X. Kelley and Robert F. Turner, War Crimes and the White House
This is a tribute to both William Burroughs and Hiroshima. Its a video I have been wanting to put together for some time now and release on the day of concern.
61 Years ago to day Hiroshima felt the atom split in anger. Today lets remember both Hiroshima Nagasaki which followed on the 9th August 1945. Lets hope the lion never rages again.
25 comments:
US Prepares $20 Billion Arms Deal With Saudis -HuffPo
And don't forget kids, we are also hands down the undefeated champs in arms dealing!
benmerc
Your info is right on time, benmerc. I have often charged that the Saudis are up to their necks in 911 complicity. And they ARE Bush's partners. 911!!! Qui bono?
Visualize a day when all the mass murderers from both nations are rounded up, tried, found guilty and hanged.
Well the arms sales pretty much ratify the need for all the statistics you posted in military spending. What will it take to wake the brain-dead American electorate?
You have shown the typical trend of the loss of social programs when this country ramps up the military costs. The real criminality of this situation is that it is unnecessary preemptive imperial aggression, flat out, and to add insult to injury, the bastards are never prepared to deal with the veterans that return. That is true no matter the war or cause, and by the time they get to where they need to be, tens to hundreds of thousand vets may have fallen through the cracks.
I do not think that it lays with the people that care for the vets, most seem dedicated and do the best job the system will allow. But when chief administrators have no plan to deal with the specialized problems the returning vets have, like heroin addition, agent orange, the ever constant post combat stress disorders, gulf war syndrome and what ever it is that this war will produce, then the administrators that drag their feet in procuring funding and planning. ultimately should be removed by the vigilance of some sort of constant oversight commission.
I don't believe the government will ever go for something like that, because as with much of what they do, accountability falls far down the list of priorities. Americans of all stripes should be outraged by this lack of concern our government has for the results of their militaristic ways. You know, if accountability were in place, possibly they would pick and choose their military efforts more carefully.
benmerc
Sadly, henmerc, Bush just doesn't give a shit about anything but self-aggrandizement. His only interest in veterans is his ability to exploit them.
Dr. Gustav Gilbert who was tasked with "interviewing" Goring and the other Nazi defendants said that evil was the utter lack of empathy. I believe that that is essentially correct. Every moral system in the Western philosophical tradition seems based in one way or another upon our ability to recognize the "humanity" in others --even those who are different in some way from ourselves.
Bush is a completely different kind of animal. He is not merely impaired with regard to empathy, he has none at all! Nada! Bush just does not give a crap about anyone other than himself. He would willingly have let New Orleans sink beneath the sea were it not for the political fallout.
Even Hitler displayed very rare flashes of humanity.
But ----Bush!!!! Absolutely nothing. Bush is the very epitome of evil.
I have to agree, the authoritarian types with their social Darwinism are more then likely flat out to clinical border-line sociopaths. For some reason there is an abundance of these Svengali's in power today. I will say watching this whole thing come together should have not been a big surprise, all of the elements of this neo-con movement have been nurtured and evolving within our society for some time. I just hope we get enough progressive Dems in power over the next few election cycles to make some of real changes in the direction our society needs to move in. They will have a time of it, but if our progressive ratio remains as low in the party as it currently stands... punt, I guess.
benmerc
The Saudis are a complete menace. Seymour Hersh has pointed out the recent changes US-Saudi relations over Iraq: they're switching sides to support the Sunnis (following Saudi pressure).
A June 2006 US Congressional hearings (headed by Senators Jon Kyl and Chuck Schumer) looked at funding for Islamic terrorism. There the FBI's assistant director for Counterterrorism called Saudi Arabia the "epicenter" of terror funding. He confirmed explicitly that such funding included al Qaeda. These are our allies in the war on terror. The US almost certainly knows the names of Saudis assisting al Qaeda in this way, but refuses to prosecute them. Go figure.
Just in passing, Vineyardsaker has a great interview with Mizghin over Turkey and the Kurds (also here) who are conducting operations against each other. Turkey has 250,000 soldiers poised on the Iraq border and has recently been shelling Kurdish positions. The US does not have the forces to occupy Mosul or Kirkuk and maintain a buffer between these enemies. Besides, who's side are they going to be on? If they back the Kurds they cross Turkey. The Kurds are a major US ally in Baghdad. If the US publicly backs Turkey they will cross the Kurds. It's a total loser.
It is also worth noting in the current climate of Iran demonization that Iran has been shipping weapons to Syria with the help of Turkey. Late in May the Kurdish PKK derailed one of these trains. Eight or nine of the cars were carrying weapons, including mortars, rockets, and sniper rifles, along with other military equipment. Now, Iran, they're the bad guys, right? And Turkey?- they're a major NATO ally, they're on our side, right? So of course they're going to work hand in hand with Iran. What the ****!
Unless the US decides to start shipping some Turkish generals to Gitmo (which they won't do because they all work together so well on the American Turkish Council endorsing illicit arms deals funded by drug trafficking) then the Kurdistan-Turkey conflict is going to be left to work itself out. The Kurds are going to lose. Again.
Empathy is the willingness to forgo one's own feelings, thoughts and interests in order to stand in the other person's shoes and see life as they do. The choice to exercise empathy is guided by a moral sentiment that always seeks and acknowledges the Good (God, soul, sincerity, common humanity, etc). Most societies publicly acknowledge some kind of higher Good that should always be deferred to. Self-interested individuals will often publicly affirm this principle of the Good because they value the social acceptance that comes with it. But they don't want to follow the practice or pay the price. They know that if they stand in the shoes of another they will likely find something of the Good that they are admonished not to reject. Accordingly, they make the decision to "just not go there". So they lie to themselves and to others. They pretend they have stood in the shoes of the other. Their life becomes a series of lies. After a while they lose the ability to tell the difference between lies and the truth. They choose to live in a private world where only their own feelings, thoughts and interests exist. Most of us have had to deal with chronic liars at some stage or other. It's a real pain. Everything is about them. Scott Peck's book, "People of the Lie", covers it well.
"they're switching sides to support the Sunnis (following Saudi pressure)."
well, if that is true, you can quadruple the targets on our troops...I would not doubt Bush to back stab his own troops, sure looks that way to me. When the house of Saud snaps their fingers, the Bushies seem to jump.
benmerc
btw damien,
good to chat with you again...
will check out online info for pecks book. Lying has been in an epidemic mode here in the states for some time now, not just the big lies, or the usual government stuff, but the everyday people...allot of them lying on their resumes and stuff like that, not to mention embellishment for undeserved gain in the work place. It has become fairly accepted, but there has been some resistance and retributions for a few offenders and incidents, as some truth is catching up.
One can see the dangers of something like this snow balling in a society to the point of a serious loss of moral direction. I do not think it odd that this behavior and decline in mores has peaked during the time and influence of the current administration. Although it had been trending prior to the Bush administration, I believe it very much represents the paradigm in which they function in, and this degrading social slacking has rubbed off in many negative ways concerning the general population and their perception of what may or may not be acceptable behavior or responsibility. Face it, accountability will be the last thing anyone will ever get out of the Bush administration.
benmerc
benmerc, damian...
Enjoyed following your dialogue. Indeed, choosing up sides is merely an admission that a state of civil exists in Iraq and it breaks down along sectarian lines. It's bad enough to be in the caught in the cross fire; now Bush has chosen up sides.
It had been predicted by a lot of folk but Bushies would not listen, being omniscient, infallible "deciders". I even asked once --when the civil war breaks out, which side will Bush take?
Taking sides also means that Bush no longer has a "cover". He can no longer claim to have invaded Iraq on behalf of the Iraqi people against the "brutal dictator" --Saddam. It changes the mission of US troops and makes of them "legitimate" targets. Not that it ever really was, but the war is NO LONGER a "war on terrorism". "Insurgents" can no longer be called insurgents. They have "legitimacy" now as an "army of the people" vs the "occupier".
It faces up to what had been case anyway. But having so declared it, Bush can no longer use the phony buzzwords, the spin, the pretense.
In a real war, the enemy can shoot back at you! And shoot they will.
FuzzFlash sez...
Len, inspired by your Death's Head US Exports jpeg, this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-cGJDvOY4k
encapsulates in four short minutes, a lot of the territory we've covered this month.
Uncle Sam features as Ah-Pook, The Destroyer. The author, in his lifetime saw the War on Drugs morph into the War On Terror, and like Philip K. Dick in Scanners, Burroughs foresaw the steady, relentless snuffing
of the last
and greatest
of human dreams.
Len sed: "Even Hitler displayed very rare flashes of humanity."
Well he didn't actually get down and played pinochle with the "shwartzes", but I once saw a photo of 'Dolphie patting a large hound called Blondin.
Damien, your 6.56 pm post addresses the dangers that doublethink and hypocricy can facilitate.. I go along with the totality of your comments but respectfully disagree with this bit..
"The choice to exercise empathy is guided by a moral sentiment that always seeks and acknowledges the Good (God, soul, sincerity, common humanity, etc). Most societies publicly acknowledge some kind of higher Good that should always be deferred to."
Fundamental human decency is as much a part of us as is fundamental human bastardry. Just can’t see the need to outsource reason to an epistemological Ponzi scheme like "God", or a "higher Good" to account for human kindness. That’s my personal view. The beauty and mystery of our pale blue dot and its firmament are awe inspiring enough. Certainty is superfluous to my meaning of life.
One of the consequences of: “Most societies publicly acknowledge some kind of higher Good that should always be deferred to." is the way that Nationalist, authoritarian leaders have hijacked good folk of faith to support the continuation of hell-holes like Gitmo and Abu-Ghraib or to publicly support ( flag waving rallies etc.) wars like Vietnam, Iraq and the one being shilled in Iran.
As Eric Idle, ex Python sings on The Rutland Isles:
"Killing for God
Is thrilling for you
Each drop of blood you spill,
Is through the Good Lord's will..."
It’s difficult to convince agnostics and atheists that “god” is actually on their side because they are immune from phoney spiritual pick-pockets.
Individuals should be able to believe whatever they want to. When they are hi-jacked, because of these beliefs, to perform mass murder or petty malfeasance, it bothers me a lot.
Btw, wrote a letter to ed, of the Times of India supporting Dr. Haneef but it didn't get a guernsey.
Fuzzflash wrote:
Individuals should be able to believe whatever they want to. When they are hi-jacked, because of these beliefs, to perform mass murder or petty malfeasance, it bothers me a lot.
Indeed! It follows from the existential belief that "man" defines him/herself. Sartre said "Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself". That ability is what it means to be human and to be human is to be free. From this follows freedom of choice, free speech et al.
An absolute dictatorship is anathema. Anything less than freedom of thought and speech effectively "de-humanizes" us. The policies of totalitarian dictatorships are not only inhumane, they are inhuman.
While I wholeheartedly agree with the vast majority of your article, I very much disagree with your first 2 lines: "Bush had hoped to pull off a quick victory cheap. But nothing worked out as hoped or planned."
I strongly believe the war is going EXACTLY as planned. This war has be designed, planned and executed to perfection with the goal of extending as long as possible allowing the absolute bilking of the American Taxpayers money.
If you hold up all military and political decisions against this theory, they all make perfect sense.
Please continue with your good work. I look forward to each of your articles.
KF.
KF said...
While I wholeheartedly agree with the vast majority of your article, I very much disagree with your first 2 lines: "Bush had hoped to pull off a quick victory cheap. But nothing worked out as hoped or planned."
I strongly believe the war is going EXACTLY as planned. This war has be designed, planned and executed to perfection with the goal of extending as long as possible allowing the absolute bilking of the American Taxpayers money.
Your point is very well-taken and I agree that Bush has planned to exploit war and terror for the purpose of securing the oil world's supply of oil for the benefit of his oil cronies. There is a long history of Texas "oil barons" exercising incredible control over events in Washington. Start with the "oil depletion allowance".
But I no longer subscribe to the theory that things have gone precisely according to plan for several reasons: 1) If they had, Bush would have already attacked Iran; 2) Bush would have already secured Iraqi oil fields; 3) last time I checked, construction on so-called "permanent bases" is either way behind schedule or scrapped altogether; 4) Bushies most certainly expected to be greeted as liberators and that just didn't happen.
A good indication of just how far wrong things have gone in Iraq can be divined by reviewing some of the early statements by the Neocons. All seem naive, even stupid in retrospect.
While it is clear that Bush had anticipated a permanent occupation with which his cabal would steal Iraqi oil at will, he most certainly did not anticipate this course of events nor did he plan adequately. He most certainly did not plan for a "permanent" occupation even if that had been his plan. There is, in fact, abundant evidence that there was NO planning whatsoever. I recommend the BBC documentary which you can see at Iraq: Only Losers Get Charged with War Crimes. See also: The Four Biggest Myths about the US War Against the People of Iraq; Also: US 'failed to control' Iraq oil
At last, I have grown weary of trying to second guess Bush. I just want to impeach his sorry ass for the heinous crimes that he's already committed. It's time we held Bush to OUR standards.
In any case, out differences on this point are minor. Your comments are welcome. I hope that we are at a point now where the vast majority of Americans will come together to 1) oust GWB from the office he stole; 2) work assiduously to undo the harm that he has done to the Constitution; 3) effect additional reforms that might prevent this kind of thing ever happening again; 4) writing new, water tight and air tight amendments to the Constitution, if need be, to prevent any future megalomaniacal bastards EVER thinking about suspending civil liberties and effecting a dictatorship. It's time to send a message to Washington. One that even politicians will understand.
Fuzz is correct , that is one hell of a graphic, a serious piece of political art, whoever the creator is, point well taken.
"But I no longer subscribe to the theory that things have gone precisely according to plan for several reasons: 1) If they had, Bush would have already attacked Iran; 2) Bush would have already secured Iraqi oil fields; 3) last time I checked, construction on so-called "permanent bases" is either way behind schedule or scrapped altogether; 4) Bushies most certainly expected to be greeted as liberators and that just didn't happen." - Len H.
I have to agree with you on the "not as planned" scenario. I also was a proponent of them pushing the "lets create chaos over here to warrant endless war", and I think they do want that perception, but I don't believe, as you have stated, that they wanted this kind of trouble, and possible failure. I think they are starting to sweat it out now, and I haven't a clue as to what their next move will be, but I will guess that it will be something with little thought attached.
benmerc
Fuzzflash, I agree with you when you say "Fundamental human decency is as much a part of us as is fundamental human bastardry".
I was mindful of the limitations in my remarks when I posted them, but space precluded a more extensive discussion. As Freud made clear we all have an undifferentiated Id, on the prowl for sex and the death of our enemies. No pretending can make it go away. And it is certainly not universal that religions espouse "love thy neighbour as thyself". In the Bhagavad Gita Arjuna was a warrior prince poised to enter battle as part of a civil war. He initially despaired over killing his relatives and refused to fight. Krishna was Lord of the Universe temporarily incarnated as Arjuna's chariot driver. He revealed himself to Arjuna as a divine being and exhorted him to engage in battle and kill his enemies declaring "they are already dead", According to Krishna, Arjuna was just an instrument to complete the deed.
The Old Testament is replete with admonitions for the Israelites to kill and enslave conquered peoples. So it is not true that religious ideas are consistent in supporting an idea like "the Good". However, aspects of Christianity and Judaism do exhort to charity - "love thy neighbour as thyself" etc.
It's not even necessary to use religious language in this regard. Anthropologists identify cultural rules in all societies for defining inclusion and exculsion from clan membership. Those on the inside obtain protection and favour, those outside can be ignored or abused.
When I spoke about societies positing "the Good" as some sort of social admonition I was making reference to the general dynamic of psychologically considering the needs and interests of other people as an essential prerequisite of adopting a welcoming attitude to those persons. But this in no way denies self interest - or even 'bastardy" - as real or legitimate. It's just a question of the social damage that can ensue, the sociopathy and the evil that can develop, if patterns of self-interest are allowed to run unhindered.
We're on the same page here Fuzzflash. We can probably afford not to shoot each other......(for now).
I've just been reading more on the Saudi link I posted above. It's frightening to see how Saudi Arabia is run by Wahabist religious leaders, genuine nut cases, hostile to women and civil society in general. Very dangerous people. No question, democracies should have a firm secular basis.
We were warned long ago that this country would not fall from an attack from outside, but would be destroyed from within.
The criminal activities of the Bush administration and our "I'm going to get richer doing the corporations business than doing the job I was sent to the District of Criminals to do for the people I'm supposed to represent" Congress WILL be the death of the once great nation so many good men and women died to preserve.
I haven't given up on government, but it seems that too many of my countrymen already have. I am reminded of what was once penned by some very influencial men concerning government "...it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government...". Maybe it IS time for the Liberty Tree to be refreshed.
God bless the United States of America!
Our Nation is so strong Militarily, that the only real defense against us is Nuclear. We live in very frightening times, Len. Both from within, and from other Countries for what misery we bring.
Recently, I became aware of the Air Force building numerous bases and major airstrips in Iraq. Their plan is definitely to stay using the Air Force to bomb, while using the Iraq Military, on the ground. They are bombing as late, killing many civilians much like Vietnam.
I believe this War will continue.
I also have come to wonder if Nancy Pelosi, is being blackmailed by Bush and Co. Why not Edgar Hoover did that for years. We all know they read our e-mails, listen to our phone conversations, satellites to monitor our every move. Why wouldn't they monitor one of the most powerful women in this Country.
Everybody has skeletons in their closet or could it be appeasement in fear for our Country and people. I find it hard to imagine why she would not put impeachment back on the table. Bush and Cheney have committed more crimes then Nixon ever had, and they gladly impeached him. From what I understand the Dem's did not have the votes when they started impeachment against Nixon, but Congress eventually found enough. This process helped bring a Dem. President to power in the next election. So, I go back again,why won't Nancy Pelosi impeached George Bush? A strong possibility, is blackmail and this fear for the safety of our people.
damien said...
Empathy is the willingness to forgo one's own feelings ...Scott Peck's book, "People of the Lie", covers it well.
From a review of the book:
This is the emotional task that every victim of generational occult abuse must also face, and try to work through in therapy. If only every therapist understood the reality of evil, the capability that can work through parents to children, as Peck so clearly does.
Peck goes on to delineate the face of evil, to show what evil looks like. His contention is that evil does not often look like what we expect; those who are most evil will often appear most “together” or wholesome at first glance. The picture he draws of evil people is all too familiar to the child raised in such a home as he delineates the “evil personality disorder” --Book Review: People of the Lie
Anonymous said...
When the house of Saud snaps their fingers, the Bushies seem to jump.
Yep! That's a "relationship" that has a history --and not a good one. The BCCI scandal is but the tip of an ice burg.
Damien said...
The Old Testament is replete with admonitions for the Israelites to kill and enslave conquered peoples. So it is not true that religious ideas are consistent in supporting an idea like "the Good".
It may be possible to chart the "stages" of one's moral as well as one's intellectual development. An "infantile stage" is characterized by "parental restraints". The idea of "God, the Father", especially a "God, the Father" who punishes the wicked most certainly does not represent an advanced stage of human intellectual, emotional, or spiritual development.
Anonymous said...
We were warned long ago that this country would not fall from an attack from outside, but would be destroyed from within.
You're right and I grew up with those admonitions. Often they came from the right wing, paranoid about "commies". More thoughtful voices saw in McCarthy and other demogogues the seeds of our destruction. Thanks to the internet, I believe, Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here" must surely be enjoying a resurgence. Unfortunately, I am told, it is out of print but can be accessed on the net at the link.
Diane B said...
Recently, I became aware of the Air Force building numerous bases and major airstrips in Iraq. Their plan is definitely to stay using the Air Force to bomb, while using the Iraq Military, on the ground. They are bombing as late, killing many civilians much like Vietnam.
Bush is certifiably insane. He's itching to "nuke" someone. We will be lucky to survive the bastard. About your other points -the entire government is compromised. I favor convening a new national convention to re-create our government and undo the harm done by Bush.
Christopher I said...
Religion is arguably the root of all evil.
I have been of that opinion since the age of 5.
Only Israel benefits from these endless wars. While the US commits war crimes abroad, the gov't clamps down on our rights by suspending habeas corpus, opening mail, banning books like America Deceived and stealing private lands. Impeach them all.
Last link (before Stark County District Library bends to gov't will and drops the title):
America Deceived (book)
Israel only benefits when we do the fighting for them. Israel's last incursion into Lebanon clearly didn't work out exactly as planned and it is significant that even then Israel resisted Washington's urging them to attack Syria.
Len Hart said...
Your info is right on time, benmerc. I have often charged that the Saudis are up to their necks in 911 complicity. And they ARE Bush's partners. 911!!! Qui bono?
And Zionist Israel, the Madison Avenue pseudo-fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
And your government should probably be called The United States of Israel/North America. Kol Nidre. They cannot be trusted.
This country has been abducted by the M.I.C. Bush is a puppet.
Sound Off
I want to say that your post is well put together and factual yet in laments terms. Bush and his administration knew how much money the war was going to end up costing Americans; all of Bush’s daddy’s friends have had a huge amount of experience in Iraq, they knew how much unrest this war would cause in that region; since the United States military cannot profit, I feel like contracting to private firms is just inversing to government profit when instead they are actually huge loses. For these short-term monetary gains for a few handpicked firms and people, countless of families have been destroyed in this war; generations crippled with little or no choice but to get into terrorist organizations. I like how you pointed out that these contractors that get work in Iraq have no military training but yet pretend to be so there; Iraq is not a Starbucks parking lot, you cannot hire security in a situation like that. Well you can, but you probably won’t be the world super-power. Good blog, I am defiantly going to visit it again.
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